Lid Assembly for Airtight Container

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a lid assembly for an airtight container in which an airtight container product may be directed in various manners by having an improved lid assembly such that a lid body and locking blade portions are integrally formed of different materials, and Tritan resin which has high transparency and is an eco-friendly material may be effectively applied to the lid assembly. To this end, the lid assembly for an airtight container includes a lid body ( 210 ) injection-molded with synthetic resin so as to cover an upper portion of an airtight container ( 100 ), the lid body ( 210 ) having a slot-shaped embedded groove ( 211 ) provided in a band form along an upper surface edge thereof and a packing groove ( 212 ) provided in a band form along a lower surface edge thereof, a lid-flange member ( 220 ) injection-molded with synthetic resin so as to surround an edge of the lid body ( 210 ) and have a ring shape after the lid-flange member ( 220 ) is inserted and arranged in a synthetic resin injection mold, the lid-flange member ( 220 ) including an inside hooking jaw ( 221 ) provided on an inner side thereof such that the inside hooking jaw ( 221 ) is hooked by an inside of the embedded groove ( 211 ) of the lid body ( 210 ), a flange ( 223 ) provided on an outer side thereof such that the flange ( 223 ) surrounds the edge of the lid body ( 210 ) and has an outside hooking jaw ( 222 ) hooked by an outer wall lower end of the packing groove ( 212 ), and locking blades ( 226 ) integrally formed at regular intervals along an edge of the flange ( 223 ) through snap-hinge portions ( 224 ) and having locking jaws ( 225 ) elastically hooked by a hooking protrusion ( 110 ) of the airtight container ( 100 ), and a silicon packing ( 230 ) installed in the packing groove ( 212 ) of the lid body ( 210 ) so as to come into close contact with the opened upper portion of the airtight container ( 100 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a lid assembly for an airtightcontainer, and more particularly to a lid assembly for an airtightcontainer to which a locking function is applicable so as to store foodwith safety without a leakage of smell or moisture.

BACKGROUND ART

When food is generally stored in a refrigerator or the like, uniquesmell and moisture of the food itself leak out. Thus, in order toprevent the same, the food is stored in an airtight container. Aconventional airtight container includes a container body having anopened upper portion, and a lid having locking blades for opening andclosing the container body. The container body is injection-molded withsynthetic resin to have a square or cylindrical shape, and has a storagespace defined therein. In addition, a hooking protrusion for hookingeach of the locking blades protrudes to be provided at an opened endportion of a side wall of the container body. The locking blades areintegrally formed along an edge of the lid so as to turn outward, andeach is provided with a hooking jaw hooked by the hooking protrusion.Accordingly, when the upper portion is covered by the lid and then eachof the locking blades is pressed downward, the hooking jaw iselastically coupled to the hooking protrusion of the container body sothat the lid is securely locked thereto. When the locking blade islifted up, restriction of the hooking jaw is released so that the lid isopened.

However, the conventional airtight container has a disadvantage in thatthe container body made of synthetic resin (PP) is easily discolored bycontents stored therein. In recent years, the purchasing power ofproducts is lowered due to a negative image about peculiar environmentalhormone of synthetic resin. In particular, the container body and thelid are made of polypropylene (referred to as “PP”) which isthermoplastic resin obtained by polymerization of propylene, and suchpolypropylene has high ductility and low transparency.

In recent years, Tritan resin having high transparency without inducingenvironmental hormone is also used. The Tritan resin is an advancedeco-friendly material which is newly developed by Eastman ChemicalCompany, U.S. global company, and refers to a pure polyesert material towhich bisphenol-A (BPA) as a suspected environmental hormone substanceand a harmful plasticizer to the human body are not added. Since theTritan resin has all of an advantage of plastic and an advantage(transparency) of glass, the

Tritan resin is used for an airtight container product. However, theTritan resin has high transparency and low ductility, and is thus notapplied to a lid product having locking blades. That is, when a lidproduct integrally formed with locking blades which are repeatedlyfolded and used is made of Tritan resin, a snap-hinge portion of eachlocking blade is easily damaged.

For this reason, a container product in which a container body is madeof a Tritan resin material and a lid having locking blades is made of apolypropylene (PP) material has been recently released. However, theproduct purchasing power of consumers is generally lowered due to thecontainer lid made of a polypropylene (PP) material.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the aboveproblems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a lidassembly for an airtight container in which an airtight containerproduct may be directed in various manners by having an improved lidassembly such that a lid body and locking blade portions are integrallyformed of different materials. In addition, Tritan resin which has hightransparency and is an eco-friendly material may be effectively appliedto the lid assembly for an airtight container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lid assembly foran airtight container in which an advanced Tritan material having alladvantages of plastic and glass may be applied to an airtight containerlid and locking blades requiring ductility may be integrated with eachother so as to realize a locking function.

Technical Solution

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above andother objects can be accomplished by the provision of a lid assembly foran airtight container, capable of opening and closing an airtightcontainer having a hooking protrusion provided on an opened upper edgethereof.

The lid assembly includes a lid body injection-molded with syntheticresin so as to cover an upper portion of the airtight container, the lidbody having a slot-shaped embedded groove provided in a band form alongan upper surface edge thereof and a packing groove provided in a bandform along a lower surface edge thereof, a lid-flange memberinjection-molded with synthetic resin so as to surround an edge of thelid body and have a ring shape after the lid-flange member is insertedand arranged in a synthetic resin injection mold, the lid-flange memberincluding an inside hooking jaw provided on an inner side thereof suchthat the inside hooking jaw is hooked by an inside of the embeddedgroove of the lid body, a flange provided on an outer side thereof suchthat the flange surrounds the edge of the lid body and has an outsidehooking jaw hooked by an outer wall lower end of the packing groove, andlocking blades integrally formed at regular intervals along an edge ofthe flange through snap-hinge portions and having locking jawselastically hooked by the hooking protrusion of the airtight container,and a silicon packing installed in the packing groove of the lid body soas to come into close contact with the opened upper portion of theairtight container.

In addition, the lid body of the lid assembly may be formed of Tritanresin, and the lid-flange member of the lid assembly may be formed ofpolypropylene resin.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS

In accordance with a lid assembly for an airtight container of thepresent invention having the above configuration, the lid assembly isformed of Tritan resin having advantages of plastic and glass and then alid-flange member having locking blades is integrated with the lidassembly, thereby enabling an airtight container product to be directedby different materials in various manners. In addition, the Tritan resinwhich has high transparency and is an eco-friendly material may beeffectively applied to the lid assembly.

Furthermore, in accordance with the lid assembly for an airtightcontainer of the present invention, the advanced Tritan resin having alladvantages of plastic and glass may be applied to an airtight containerlid and the locking blades requiring ductility may be integrated witheach other so as to realize a locking function. In addition, variouscolors are applied to the lid-flange member configured by the lockingblades and thus the airtight container product may be distinguished.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a lid assembly according to an embodimentof the present invention applied to an airtight container having a bowlshape;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the lid assembly for anairtight container according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the lid assembly for anairtight container according to the embodiment of the present inventiontaken along line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a lid body of the lid assemblyaccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of the lidbody according to the embodiment of the present invention taken alongline V-V of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a lid-flange member of the lidassembly according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of thelid-flange member of the lid assembly according to the embodiment of thepresent invention taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a use state of the lidassembly for an airtight container according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

[Description of Reference Numerals] 100: airtight container 110: hookingprotrusion 200: lid assembly 210: lid body 221: inside hooking jaw 222:outside hooking jaw 223: flange 224: snap-hinge 225: locking jaw 226:locking blade 230: silicon packing

BEST MODE

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. In theaccompanying drawings, FIGS. 1 to 7 show a configuration of a lidassembly according to an embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 8show a use state of the lid assembly according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

[Configuration of Lid Assembly for Airtight Container of the PresentInvention]

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a lid assembly of an airtight container 200according to an embodiment of the present invention may open and closean airtight container 100 by applying a locking function to the airtightcontainer 100 having a hooking protrusion 110 which is provided in anoutward flange form on an opened upper edge. The lid assembly 200includes a lid body 210 which is injection-molded with synthetic resinso as to cover an upper portion of the airtight container 100, alid-flange member 220 which is formed of synthetic resin along an edgeof the lid body 210 to surround the same and has a plurality of lockingblades 226 integrally formed with the edge, and a silicon packing 230arranged along a lower surface edge of the lid body 210.

The lid assembly 200 is configured such that the lid body 210 and thelid-flange member 220 are integrally formed of different materials whichare not fused with each other. To this end, a detailed structure of eachcomponent is as follows.

First, referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the lid body 210 is injection-moldedwith synthetic resin so as to the upper portion of the airtightcontainer 100, and has a slot-shaped embedded groove 211 provided in aband form along an upper surface edge thereof and a packing groove 212provided in a band form along the lower surface edge thereof. In theembodiment of the present invention, the lid body 210 has a shapecapable of substantially covering the upper portion of the airtightcontainer 100 in a dome form, and Tritan resin as an advancedeco-friendly material is applied to the lid body 210. The Tritan resinhaving all advantages of plastic and glass may be applied to the lidbody 210 since the locking blades 226 requiring ductility are separatelyformed as described later.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 6, and 7, the lid-flange member 220 forming thelid assembly 200 is also manufactured through a synthetic resininjection mold. That is, after the lid body 210 manufactured with Tritanresin is inserted and arranged in the synthetic resin injection mold,the lid-flange member 220 is injection-molded with synthetic resin so asto surround the edge of the lid body 210 and has a ring shape. Thelid-flange member 220 includes an inside hooking jaw 221 provided on aninner side thereof such that the inside hooking jaw 221 is hooked by aninside of the embedded groove 211 of the lid body 210, a flange 223provided on an outer side thereof such that the flange 223 surrounds theedge of the lid body 210 and has an outside hooking jaw 222 hooked by anouter wall lower end of the packing groove 212, and the locking blades226 which are integrally formed at regular intervals along an edge ofthe flange 223 through snap-hinge portions 224 and have locking jaws 225elastically hooked by the hooking protrusion 110 of the airtightcontainer 100. In the embodiment of the present invention, thelid-flange member 220 is formed of polypropylene resin such that eachsnap-hinge portion 224 may have high ductility. The lid-flange member220 is formed after the lid body 210 primarily formed of Tritan resin isinserted and arranged in a secondary injection mold. In addition, thelid-flange member 220 undergoes contraction change of approximately12/1000 in a hardening process after formation thereof due to materialcharacteristics. Through such contraction change, the flange 223 of thelid-flange member 220 is reliably integrated to the edge portion of thelid body 210 without a separate adhesive member.

The silicon packing 230 (see FIG. 3) is received and installed in thepacking groove 212 of the lid body 210 so as to come into close contactwith the opened upper portion of the airtight container 100, asdescribed above. Consequently, the silicon packing 230 may seal theairtight container 100.

Eventually, the lid assembly 200 may be configured as follows, so as tohave the above structure. After the lid body 210 is primarily formed ofan eco-friendly Tritan material having advantages of plastic and glassand then inserted and arranged in the injection mold for the lid-flangemember 220, the lid-flange member 220 is formed of polypropylene resinsuch that each snap-hinge portion 224 may have high ductility.Consequently, the lid body 210 and the locking blades 226 may bemanufactured by different materials.

Accordingly, since the lid-flange member 220 is manufactured to havedifferent colors, the product of the lid assembly 200 of the airtightcontainer 100 may be directed in more various manners. In addition, theTritan resin which has high transparency and is an eco-friendly materialmay be effectively applied to the lid assembly 200. In particular, theadvanced Tritan material may be applied to the lid assembly 200 of theairtight container 100 and the locking blades 226 requiring ductilitymay be integrated with each other so as to realize a locking function.

[Use of Lid Assembly of the Present Invention]

Hereinafter, a use state of the lid assembly of an airtight containeraccording to the embodiment of the present invention having the aboveconfiguration will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

First, when the lid assembly 200 according to the embodiment of thepresent invention covers the upper portion of the airtight container100, the opened upper edge of the airtight container 100 comes intocontact with the silicon packing 230 arranged on the lower surface edgeof the lid body 210.

In this state, when the locking blades 226 of the lid assembly 200 arepressed downward, the locking jaws 225 are fixedly hooked by the hookingprotrusion 110 while the locking blades 226 turn about the snap-hingeportions 224. In this case, since the locking jaws 225 of the lockingblades 226 are elastically deformed and fixed, the locked state by thelocking blades 226 is not released unless an artificial force is appliedthereto.

Meanwhile, when the locking blades 226 is lifted up, the locking jaws225 of the locking blades 226 are elastically deformed and decoupledfrom the hooking protrusion 110. Thus, the locked state by the lockingblades 226 is released so that the airtight container 100 may easilyopened.

Meanwhile, although the lid assembly for an airtight container has beendescribed to have a circular shape in the embodiment, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. For example, the technical idea of thepresent invention may be applied to a lid assembly having a square shapeor a rectangular shape. Various embodiments have been described in thebest mode for carrying out the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention may be widely used in the field of a lid assemblyfor an airtight container for sealing an upper portion of an airtightcontainer storing food.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

1. A lid assembly for an airtight container, capable of opening andclosing an airtight container (100) having a hooking protrusion (110)provided on an opened upper edge thereof, the lid assembly (200)comprising: a lid body (210) injection-molded with synthetic resin so asto cover an upper portion of the airtight container (100), the lid body(210) having a slot-shaped embedded groove (211) provided in a band formalong an upper surface edge thereof and a packing groove (212) providedin a band form along a lower surface edge thereof; a lid-flange member(220) injection-molded with synthetic resin so as to surround an edge ofthe lid body (210) and have a ring shape after the lid-flange member(220) is inserted and arranged in a synthetic resin injection mold, thelid-flange member (220) comprising an inside hooking jaw (221) providedon an inner side thereof such that the inside hooking jaw (221) ishooked by an inside of the embedded groove (211) of the lid body (210),a flange (223) provided on an outer side thereof such that the flange(223) surrounds the edge of the lid body (210) and has an outsidehooking jaw (222) hooked by an outer wall lower end of the packinggroove (212), and locking blades (226) integrally formed at regularintervals along an edge of the flange (223) through snap-hinge portions(224) and having locking jaws (225) elastically hooked by the hookingprotrusion (110) of the airtight container (100); and a silicon packing(230) installed in the packing groove (212) of the lid body (210) so asto come into close contact with the opened upper portion of the airtightcontainer (100).
 2. The lid assembly according to claim 1, wherein: thelid body (210) of the lid assembly (200) is formed of Tritan resin; andthe lid-flange member (220) of the lid assembly (200) is formed ofpolypropylene resin.